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October 31, 1874, Qing and Japan signed the "Beijing Special Treaty about the Taiwan Incident" to settle the quarrels caused by the Mudan Incident. Japanese claimed that this treaty acknowledged Japanese expedition is a "righteous action for protection the people", thus Ryukyu is Japan's territory; whereas China claimed that the "people" here only refer to the drifters from Okayama; Ryukyu was still a member of China's tribute system. Anyhow this was Japan's first overseas expedition since the Meiji restoration; and the result positively back up the Eagle Wing. For details you may refer to a paper in our Bulletin: Chen Zai-zheng, "Formosa Incident of 1874: The Ensuing Sino-Japanese Nagotiation and Its Rehabilitation".
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